Five Late Late Show talking points, from Irish funeral FOMO to Pat Kenny’s Toy Show PTSD
Pat Kenny with Patrick Kielty
Political journalist Caitríona Perry was on the show to discuss her experiences in Washington DC as a chief presenter for BBC News.
Perry spoke about her transition from RTÉ to BBC and her experience covering the chaotic political landscape in the US in the wake of Donald Trump’s re-election last year — including how she correctly predicted his return to the Oval Office.
She highlighted the significant changes in America since Trump returned to the presidency, including job losses, heightened tensions, and economic difficulties.
When asked by Patrick Kielty if she misses any home comforts, Perry had a distinctly Irish reply: funerals and food.
“You miss going to funerals. The Irish people are very good at going to funerals, and I don't get to go to funerals,” she said.
“That sounds like a weird thing, but, you know, you go to someone in work’s parent’s [funeral] or whatever. Unfortunately, a lot of RTÉ colleagues have died from the newsroom since I've been gone; I haven't been able to go to their funerals.”
She joked that she is “legal” and it is work and family commitments preventing her from travelling. “I’m not missing the funerals because I can't travel home. I just have a job, and you can't be coming home every other week.”
She also added “good Irish beef, good vegetables, chipper chips” to the list, before lamenting the “terrible” standard of chocolate in America.
It was a case of PK speaks to PK as Patrick Kielty interviewed his predecessor Pat Kenny, who spoke about the freedom he felt with his move from RTÉ to Newstalk, and his more recent switch to weekend shows.
Kenny hosted the for a decade and when asked by Kielty if he wished he’d stayed in the role longer, he quipped: “Ten Toy Shows is a lot. Elephants, polar bears, ice, climbing up and down the building, abseiling down the side of it, that was enough. I was happy to move on.”
He did, however, lament that his father was not alive to see a memorable Toy Show opening, which saw him arrive on the back of an elephant.
“That wasn't the first time I was on the back of an elephant, because my father was the elephant keeper in Dublin Zoo, of course, and my grandfather before him was also the elephant keeper in Dublin Zoo. I was familiar with being on the back of an elephant,” he said.
“That was a moment that I wished my father lived to see.”
He also reflected on his famous interview with Joe O'Reilly, who murdered his wife Rachel at their home but appeared on the Late Late Show with his in-laws during an early appeal for information.
“It was a strange encounter,” he recalled. “Even afterwards, Joe vanished very quickly. The rest of us went to the green room and had tea, coffee, a glass of wine or whatever, and had a chat about the terrible situation that they had found themselves in. Joe split very, very quickly, which we all thought was rather odd.”
When Kielty remarked that a similar interview likely would not happen today due to “questions that you legally can't ask” now, Kenny shared a guest he would book today if he were still in the host’s seat.
“I was wondering why you didn't have Enoch Burke on. In my time with my late producer, Larry Masterson, he would have been first on our guest list. Yeah, let's get Enoch and see just what he's made of.”
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Cavan comedian Kevin McGahern spoke about the success of last year, believing the Irish people’s love of “lying and mischief” added to its popularity.
“It was such a phenomenon,” said McGahern, who hosted companion show
He credited contestants like Eamon and Paudie for adding a distinctly Irish flavour to the show.
“What I liked about Paudie was he represented a type of Irish auld lad that you see in your life, but you never see represented on telly.”
He also described hosting the Iftas this year, and how his bodhrán performance during the show saw a Hollywood legend singing his praises online.
“Sharon Stone was sliding into my DMs, Paddy. Can you imagine the 13-year-old Kevin inside me when he got that message?”
Podcast host and presenter Doireann Garrihy joined Kielty to discuss life as a new mum and her upcoming tour.
The host gave birth to baby Rosie last October and said her husband Mark was instantly “besotted” by their baby.
“He was in every visiting hour allowed, and beyond — he definitely broke the rules; he was supposed to go home. He has been very hands-on from the get-go, and I'm very grateful for that,: she said.
Garrihy added that social media pressure for perfection can be overwhelming, but she’s keen to share the realities of motherhood.
“We compare and despair, and you see people who seem to be nailing it, so I try to just be as honest as I can,” she said.
“I've had a really nice response, stuff like breastfeeding, all the things that you cannot prepare for until you're in it. The biggest response I've ever got on Instagram was to that and people sharing their different journeys and how judgment is such a big part of it. I never want to perpetuate that.
“I always want to be as honest as possible. You have to communicate with other moms and learn from them. And you don't want to freak someone out either.”
Irish actor Ciaran Hinds revealed the backstory to a t-shirt worn by Liam Neeson in a video message for the Iftas, which featured a collage of Hinds’ face.
The recording was played as Hinds was honoured with a lifetime achievement award, but Hinds shared that the t-shirt is an inside joke between the pals.
“The t-shirts came from his son, Danny, who's a gorgeous fella. Two years ago, we were there at Christmas because we share Christmas together every year,” he said.
“Danny had these t-shirts made up, unbeknownst to me. Christmas Eve comes, and there's a ritual about dressing the tree. I'm last down, but they're all in these t-shirts covered with some shirt, but I don't know this.
“I started dressing the tree, and it took about 10 or 15 minutes with sniggering and pointing for me to say, ‘What's wrong with everybody?’ I hadn’t seen that they were all wearing that t-shirt. That was, I guess, an early Christmas present. And then it was revisited by Liam.”
He also spoke about some upcoming projects, including the third and final season of “coming out April/May”, as well as an adaptation of Walk The Blue Fields.
“I'm working on a lovely project right now with John Crowley, and it's an adaptation of a Claire Keegan short story, adapted by Conor McPherson, shooting down in Wicklow with the great Andrew Scott and Emily Blunt.”
